Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Tenacious D, and Laundry

Yesterday, I was folding laundry and organizing my t-shirts. I have a modest selection of quirky tees with everything from band logos emblazoned on the front to strange sayings along the back. Since I used to work retail, I was colorizing my t-shirts into one of three piles: plain, jokes, and bands.

It was quick and efficient work until I pulled my Tenacious D tee out of the basket. Is this, I asked myself, a joke or a band?

It’s not an easy question to answer.

Tenacious D started when a 16-year-old Jack Black met 24-year-old Kyle Gass in 1985 in Los Angeles. Both were members of the “The Actors’ Gang” theatre troupe, and although the eight year difference in age initially sowed the seeds for dissention, Gass eventually relented and taught Black to play the guitar.

What derived from this quiet, and almost quaint beginning, is an absurdly talented band that likes to write songs about kielbasas and karate, satirizing metal while at the same time aspiring to those rocketsauce-fueled heights.

The boys of the D first crossed paths with fame on HBO. They had a self-titled series which usually culminated in a set at the local coffee shop. It lasted six episodes.

Then, somehow, Hollywood called.

Both have since appeared in movies, but only Black has made a career of it. Black’s roles include King Kong, School of Rock, and High Fidelity, while Gass, ever the sideman, has appeared as a bit player in Elf, Saving Silverman, and Evolution.

Now a Tenacious D movie, entitled Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny, is planned for a 2006 release. Directed by Liam Lynch, who helmed their “Tribute” video, the film will portray the fictional beginnings of the band and their rise to super-stardom.

You could say I saved you seven dollars by telling you how it really went down, but my version doesn’t include Sasquatch, Dio, or Satan.

But what of my t-shirt? After a moment of indecision, I placed it squarely on top of the band pile. A joke is a transient thing, a momentary elevation. A band can be–should be–iconic. A slice of forever. Anybody who wants to rock my socks off is more than a joke, and anybody who can is well on their way to immortality.